August was a busy month for makeup, and we found some gems, including another blockbuster to add to Becca’s already-impressive lineup of highlighters. There were some less-than-great products we reviewed, too, though—among them two primer products that just didn’t live up to their claims.

Here are August’s Best and Worst Makeup products!

The Best New Makeup Products Reviewed

A color-saturated eyeshadow, high-performance foundation, and a primer that provides a lit-from-within glow all made the grade.

Becca Backlighting Primer Filter ($38) – This subtle highlighting lotion works for a variety of skin tones and is versatile enough to be used under foundation for all-over radiance (for normal to dry skin), applied selectively to highlight key areas of the face (for combination to oily skin).

Kat Von D Metal Crush Eyeshadow ($21) – These fragrance-free shadows have a buttery-smooth texture that’s a breeze to blend. They’re packed with color, so a little goes a long way—plus they don’t flake, crease, or fade!

Smashbox #Shapematters Palette ($65) – A one-stop-shopping palette, #Shapematters features a range of great products including a brow wax, two brow powders, four face powders ideal for contouring, and nine eyeshadows that are beautiful, blendable, and don’t flake or fade!

The Worst New Makeup Products Reviewed: Two Stars (or Lower)

Most of the makeup products that made this month’s worst list didn’t actually have bad ingredients (such as fragrance or irritants). Instead, they just did not live up to their claims and had an overall so-so performance.

Sonia Kashuk Extreme Wear Eye Primer ($8.99) – Though this somewhat tacky eye primer can improve the color quality and delay fading of eyeshadow, it doesn’t stop creasing in shadows that are prone to doing so (one of the main reasons many people wear a shadow primer!).

L’Oreal Paris True Match Lumi Liquid Glow Illuminator ($12.99) – There are so many things we liked about this highlighter: Its easy-to-blend texture, luminous finish, and ability to wear through the day without fading. Unfortunately, it contains an iffy amount of alcohol—you can smell it on your face—which could potentially lead to irritation.

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation ($11.30) – This foundation starts out with natural-looking medium coverage, but doesn’t blend well or easily as it should, and over time begins clinging to dry patches and emphasizing imperfections.

CoverGirl Outlast All-Day Makeup Primer ($11.15) – A makeup primer should make foundation apply more easily and wear better, but this one drags as you apply it, pills on certain areas of the face, and makes foundation appear patch and uneven—the opposite of what a good primer should do!

If you want to see more of our newest product reviews from all brands, check out the New Reviews Section!

I love this primer. I often wear it alone and without foundation. I also like to rub a little bit over my blush on the apples of my cheeks. I feel like highlighter has the ability to make you look well rested and youthful, and this definitely does that!

I bought this primer based on the Beautypeida reviews, Excellent! This is the best primer I've ever used. And I've used many. I have dry skin and use it on my whole face under foundation. I also put it on my neck and chest. It enhances the appearance of skin on those areas.

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The Beautypedia Team proudly and unequivocally continues the commitment to help you find the best products possible for your skin. We do this by relentlessly pursuing and relying on published scientific research so you will have unbiased information on what works and what doesn’t—and the sneaky ways you could be making your skin worse, not better!

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Welcome to Beautypedia: Exclusives, where we share our take on current beauty trends, reveal the current Best & Worst new products, beauty dupes and more!

Check back each week for new content, and let us know what topics you would like to see us cover. Just send our team an email: BeautypediaTeam@Beautypedia.com.

The Beautypedia Team proudly and unequivocally continues the commitment to help you find the best products possible for your skin. We do this by relentlessly pursuing and relying on published scientific research so you will have unbiased information on what works and what doesn’t—and the sneaky ways you could be making your skin worse, not better!

The Beautypedia Team reviews all products using the same research, criteria, and objectivity, whether the product being reviewed is from Paula’s Choice or another brand.

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